Chibis? Let 'Er Rip!
by RipCord
Summary: CHAPTER 2 UPLOADED! Now that Max is a chibi, the others must learn to adapt but it's alot harder then they thought... SHOUNEN-AI! TxM; KxR; LxR. More to Come
1. Chibi Voodoo Changing Formula?

This story was written by Yuki-Obsidian and Mixe, over AIM. It is an ongoing rpg, which contains, or will contain in the future: yaoi, nudity, violence, angst, coarse language, pointless fluff, love triangles, insane humour...all that fun stuff! *wink*  
  
Mixe plays Kai, Max, Kenny, Dizzi, Lei, and Kevin.  
  
Yuki_Obsidian plays Rei, Tyson, Gary and Mariah  
  
Additional characters will be alotted out as we get to them. As mentioned, this is a work in progress, and we're nice people on our good days, so any requests will most likely be incorporated, unless they really suck. *grin*  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own 'em, and we don't have anything valuable, so don't bother suing.   
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Lei's steps were hasty and secretive as he crept across the open space between the suite the White Tigers were staying in during the Charity Beyblade Tournament, and that of the Blade Breakers. He looked around him furtively, before crouching outside their door and placing a small vial on the steps. Taking one last quick look around him, he knocked loudly then fled, hopping onto a low hanging tree branch nearby to watch unseen and ensure his 'gift' was recieved.   
  
The vial held an ancient serum used by the White Tgiers for ages. When he was younger, Lei had scoffed the tribe's elders' talk of love potions and magical spells, but when Rei had left him, the old stories had suddenly found a new value in his eyes. He had spent months reading the old tomes and spell books, and even longer finding all the right ingredients, but now it was finally time. All his had work would finally pay off.  
  
Rei would love him again. For real this time.   
  
Rei had been sitting on the couch watching TV with Tyson, Max and Kai when there was a knock on the door. Knowing that neither Max or Tyson were going to get up since their eyes were glued to the screen and that Kai wasn't about to move, he got up and headed for the door.   
  
"Hello..." he started, but stopped when there was no one there. He blinked, then leaned out, looking around for anyone but seeing no one. Rei was about to go back in, when he noticed the small vial sitting on the front steps. He scooped it up, then went back inside. Without saying a word, he sat back down on the couch and starting looking the vial over, seeing his name on it and wondering what it could be and who it was from.  
  
Lei watched the door open and the boy who it was intended for spot the bottle, bend over to retrieve it, then take it back inside. His grin gleamed in the darkness and a short laugh escaped the Tiger's lips before he bounded out of his hiding place and back to his teammates.   
  
Inside, Kai noticed Rei's return and arched an eyebrow. "Who was it?" he asked in a bored voice. Max tore his eyes away as a car commerical came on the tv to look at Rei as well. "Huh? Was someone at the door? Who was it, Rei?"  
  
"There was no one there," Rei replied as he turned the vial between his fingers and held it up. "but I found this on the front steps."  
  
"What is it?" Tyson asked as he leaned closer to the raven-haired boy to get a better view of the small vial clasped between his fingers. "It's got your name on it, so it's gotta be for you."  
  
"I know... it just seems kinda weird, don't you think?" Rei asked. "Why would someone just leave it on the steps like that? And what could it be?"  
  
Kai leaned over with a frown and grabbed it from Rei's limber fingers. "Let me see that!" Opening it, he sniffed the clear, odourless liquid, then held it up to the light. "It could be poison," he said slowly to himself. Max laughed, before reaching out to snatch away the bottle and sniff it himself. "Why would anyone send Rei poison, Kai? He's so nice! I bet it's just a drink. Maybe room service brought it," he said slowly, before raising the vial to his lips, dipping back his head, and taking a quick drink before anyone could stop him.   
  
"MAX!!" Kai bellowed, panic rising in his voice, but the blonde only looked at him and smiled as he lowered the now 3/4 full vial. "It tastes ok," he said cheerfully. "Try it!" he said holding the mysterious liquid out to the others.   
  
"If it's good enough for Max to drink, then it's good enough for me too!" Tyson proclaimed as he took the vial from Max, gave it a quick sniff, then drank a quarter of the liquid himself. He shrugged then unconsciously licked his lips. "Not bad... c'mon Kai, you try it! Or are you... chicken?" he asked, as he wagged the vial in front of the bluenette's face.  
  
Kai sneered. "That could have been anything, you idiots! How can you be so stupid!?" Tyson's comment bothered him though, and, seeing that both younger boys seemed fine, he couldn't hold back his pride any longer, and roughly grabbed the bottle from Tyson's outstretched hand and gulped down his share with a smirk. "I'm not afraid of anything," he said smugly, before setting the bottle down on the table, only to have it quickly scooped up by Max. "Rei didn't get any!" the blonde protested before adding with a laugh, " and it was addressed to -him- after all! Here Rei," he said, flashing the older boy a bright smile, "there's still a bit left."  
  
Rei frowned and took the bottle from Max. He thought it was pretty rude that the other boys had taken something of his and drank most of it, leaving him with barely any but when he thought more about it, he realized that it was just how his friends were, so it was nothing to get angry about. He quickly finished the liquid off, then set the empty vial down on the table before facing the other boys.   
  
"I don't know about you guys, but I think I'm going to go to bed now... it's getting late."   
  
Kai nodded. "We have a lot of training to do. We are all going to bed now." Anticipating Max's outburst that the movie wasn't done he gave the boy an icy glare, which shut him up before he even started, then pointed wordlessly towards the bedroom they all shared. Pouting, the blonde got up and dragged his feet across the living room and to the bed. Crossing his arms, Kai followed, pausing to bark at Tyson to shut off the lights and tv before coming in.   
  
Max was already half out of his overalls when Kai entered the room and he shook his head affectionately. "Remind me to buy you some pyjamas," he said ask he stripped off his own shoes, socks, and scarf, then dug through his duffle bag for his sleeping attire.   
  
"Why?" Max asked, turning to face the older boy in only his briefs and small t-shirt that barely reached past his midriff. He smiled innocently, before jumping onto the bed. "I call the spot next to Tyson!" he bellowed, bouncing on the bed.   
  
"No one's going to fight you for it!" Kai snapped, slightly upset that Max was basically calling the spot farthest from him. "No one ever calls the spot next to me," he muttered to himself, before shrugging on his plain black tank top, some loose grey sleeping pants, then sitting on the end of the bed he always slept on.   
  
Rei waited in the living room to make sure Tyson was going to bed and that all the lights were off, before following him into the bedroom. He rolled his eyes at Max, thinking it was crazy of him and Tyson to only sleep in small t-shirts and underwear in October but he knew that nothing he could say would ever change that.   
  
Tyson quickly took off his hat, jacket, shoes, socks and shoes and kicked them into a pile in the corner before climbing onto the bed next to Max. He grinned at the blonde as he lay down in the bed, on top of the sheets then poked him playfully in the side, where pale skin was being exposed. "I can see your epidermis!"  
  
"Oh no... not this again," Rei said to himself as he finished putting on a loose white t-shirt and red pants then sat down on the bed near Kai. Knowing that Max would go crazy trying to cover up his 'epidermis', he smiled at the younger blonde. "Epidermis is skin, Max... don't let Tyson fool you."  
  
Max was about to panic when Rei reminded him about the tricky vocabulary and he immediately blew a raspberry at the boy lying next to him. "Nice try, Tyson! I knew that!" He still slipped under the blankets though, and pulled them up over his head, before poking the other boy through the blanket in his side and giggling childishly.  
  
Kai shook his head at the muffled laughter and childish antics. "If he suffocates under there, I won't be surprised," he muttered to Rei, before slipping under the blanket himself. A tiny smirk spread over his face, and suddenly Max popped out of the blanket, eyes wide open. "Something pinched me!" he shrieked, then glared accusingly at Rei as Kai began to laugh. "Rei!!! That hurt!"  
  
Rei's mouth dropped open as he was accused of pinching and he quickly shook his head. "I didn't even touch you, Max! It was probably Tyson for all you..." he trailed off, looking down at the said blader as he laid sprawled out over the blankets and fast asleep, a small bit of drool creeping down the side of his mouth. Rei made a face before getting under the covers himself, then yanking the sheet from under Tyson and putting it over him. "Let's just follow Tyson's example and get some sleep..." he said as he lay down and tucked his arms behind his head and shut his eyes.   
  
Kenny padded out of his office moments later to notice that the living room was deserted. "Wow," he mumbled to his laptop. "It's later then I thought." Stiffling a yawn, the short boy opened the bedroom and, placing Dizzi on the nightstand, slipped into bed next to the snoring Tyson with a soft sigh. He would have preferred Max or Rei's spot, in the middle, because whenever he was on the edge of the bed he always managed to get knocked off, but he didn't plan on resting too long. He had too much data to process and analyze before their next big match. Another deep yawn shook him, and he finally settled down and closed his eyes - the last of the Blade Breakers to fall asleep.   
  
Sunlight filtered through the narrow blinds, and that, along with the loud snoring of the boy next to him, slowly woke the always cheerful Max. Sitting up in bed, he giggled at the patterns the light was making on the comforter, cooing softly, before noticing the long black hair draped across his lap. Griining widely, he grabbed to large handful of the silky hair and pulled sharply, squealing, "KITTY!"  
  
Rei was woken with a start and shrieked as his ponytail was suddenly yanked. He sat up, forcefully pulling his hair away from whoever grabbed it, then turned, narrowed golden eyes glaring at whoever was guilty. His face suddenly fell though when he saw a small blonde with large blue eyes, probably barely older then two years old beside him.   
  
"Max...?" he said disbelievingly as he continued to stare. "Is that you...?"  
  
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	2. Doggy Pancakes!

Alright here it is, chapter two and just a lil note before you start ready. It's been mentioned that Kai seems a lil out of character but that should be expected. This fic is shounen-ai so really all of them are out of character since they like other guys. There's no way you could stay 100% IC but we try our best. Please R&R!  
  
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Kai woke up as soon as he heard Rei shriek and gawked over the boy's shoulder at the small child looking up innocently at the shocked raven-haired boy. "Course!" the small chibi chirped, smiling brightly. Kai mouth fell open, then shut, wordlessly. The blonde handful of energy spotted the familiar boy and squealed. "Kwai! Rei's a kitty!"   
  
"Uhhh....." Getting up onto his knees, Kai leaned across Rei's lap to grab a handful of kid and hoist the boy onto his lap. It was wearing Max's clothes, and those eyes were just as bright and cheerful as always. And who could mistake that smile? "Oh shit...." Kai muttered, realizing there was no denying that this was Max Tate. "What happened to you?!"  
  
The boy looked up at him blankly a moment, then reached up to bop him on the nose. "No swears!" he said pretending to be upset before grinning, then rolling out of Kai's lap and into Rei's. "Kai sweared mommy," he tattled, expecting a treat as reward.  
  
Rei watched as Kai looked Max over, realizing that it -really- was Max, but how could this have happened? The raven-haired boy was about to ask, when Max climbed into his lap and called him mommy. That caused him to blush deeply, his eyes widening. "M-mommy?!? Umm... I'm not your mommy, Max. I'm Rei," he paused then looked over at Kai. "And don't swear, Kai."  
  
Meanwhile, Tyson was still fast asleep, totally obvilious to the small puddle on the bed next to him. He stretched his arm out, then made a face when it brushed with something wet. "Gross..." he muttered before rolling over and unconciously pushing Kenny off the bed and taking his spot.  
  
Kai glared, then shifted uncomfortably. Looking down, he noticed a strange dark spot on his pants. Touching it, he was surprised to find it was slightly damp and arched an eyebrow at the tiny boy. "Max?" he asked curiously. The chibi's smile faded and he lowered his head shamefully.   
  
"I piddled," he said in a tiny, tearful voice. "Sorry..." Kai's face was blank as he tried to figure out what that meant. "Piddled?" His eyes fell on the damp space where Max had been sleeping, then widened as he recognized the meaning of the word. The normally calm boy sprang out of bed with a shriek. "HE PEED! Max got pee on me! Holy SHIT!!!" Little Max's eyes widened as he watched Kai dash out of the room still yelling, then slowly filled and overspilled with tears. "Mommy..." he whimpered, turning to bury his face in Rei's t-shirt. "I sorry."  
  
Rei rubbed small circles on the blonde's back and held him close, trying to get him to stop crying. "It's okay Max... it was just an accident," he said softly, trying to assure the baby that he had done nothing wrong. "How about if I help you get cleaned up, then find you something to eat? Would you like that?"   
  
Max sniffed pitefully, then lifted his small tear-streaked face up to look at his 'mommy'. "Pancakes?" he asked softly, a tiny smile starting to pull up the corners of his mouth. Kai re-entered the room at that moment in just his boxers, his pants having been thrown in the trash when he couldn't remember if urine had germs in it or not. He looked at the two boys and frowned. "He's going to wet on you Rei. Just dump him on the bed."  
  
"No!!!" Max squealed, clamping his little arms around Rei's neck. "No, mommy! I be good." His tears started falling again, and Kai groaned. "Why is he crying?! Max is supposed to be a happy kid! And why is he so little? And why the HELL isn't he potty trained?!" He looked at Rei, expecting him to have all the answers and a nice, clean solution to the problems this little chibi was already posing.  
  
Rei frowned heavily at Kai, as he scooped the small blonde into his arms and got off the bed. He didn't care if Max accidently got him wet, since he could always wash his clothes, and it wasn't Max's fault anyways. It had already became apparent that he didn't know what was going on, since he was calling Rei 'mommy'. Rei once again rubbed the child's back soothingly as he headed for the door but then stopped in front of Kai instead.   
  
"He's crying because you're being mean and scared him. I don't know why he's little but I do know that he's too young to be potty trained. I doubt that he's even two and a half yet. So until I figure out what's going on, I'm going to make him some pancakes," and with that said, Rei left the room and carried Max to the kitchen with him to get started on some breakfast.  
  
Kenny groaned, sitting up on the hard floor. "I knew it..." he moaned, looking up at Tyson snoring on his end of the bed. "I should just sleep on the couch," he said to myself, and smiled when a familiar sarcastic female voice answered. "Or better yet, don't sleep at all!"   
  
"That's not a practical solution Dizzi."  
  
"And why not? It beats waking up in a piddle puddle!" Kenny stood up and looked at Dizzi blankly. "Huh?" he asked, only to be directed to a strange stain on the bed sheets. "What is that?" the little genius asked himself, before leaning over Tyson to inspect it. It wasn't until the Chief was about to lick his fingers after rubbing the soiled material, that Dizzi let him know what it was, and his shrieks drew Kai's attention. He had been following Rei into the kitchen, trying to think of something to say to get back on good standing with the handsome blader without having to actually apologize to him, when he heard Kenny. Terrified that there might be another chibi loose, he dashed back into the bedroom to see a normal Kenny and Tyson. Sighing in relief, he smacked Kenny across the back of the head for worrying him, then strode back into the kitchen. Sitting at the table, he said in a feigned boredom, "Need any help?"  
  
Rei had Max seated on the counter next to him, as he stirred the pancake batter in a large bowl. He had tied a dish towel around Max's neck as a make-shift bib to keep him from getting too dirty, at least until he bought him some baby clothes. Kai had just sat down when Rei had started putting some batter into a pan and started cooking it.   
  
"You can set the table... and make sure you give Max a spoon to use. I don't want him stabbing himself with a fork," he said as he flipped the pancake but avoided eye contact with the team leader.  
  
Kai obediently rose to his feet and went to the cupboards to grab enough plates for all 5 bladers. Even though Tyson was still sleeping, the smell of food always managed to draw him out of bed. Cutlery came next, and he gave the baby a small plastic spoon as instructed even though he doubted Max could use even that without causing a big mess. "Shouldn't he just use a bottle?" Kai asked quietly, showing how completely baffled and clueless he was when it came to children, babies especially.   
  
Max just laughed as Kai looked at him with a puzzled expression, then clapped his hands as he saw Rei pour out some more batter. "Make a puppy!" he giggled, reaching over to touch the pan.   
  
"Maybe if he was an infant, but Max is a toddler so I'm sure he'll be able to use a spoon and a cup, but it will probably need a straw in it," Rei said as he looked at Kai from over his shoulder, then went back to his cooking. He smiled softly at Max as he gently moved the blonde's hand away from the pan. "Don't touch that ok? You could get hurt..." he said before he started to use the spatula to try and shape the pancake into a puppy shape.  
  
Kai snorted. "I wouldn't be so sure. Max and Tyson can barely manage basic table manners -normally-," he said as he dug through the old take out bags for a straw. "Good," he muttered as he found an unused MacDonalds one, then grabbed a plastic cup from the cupboard. "NO!" The older boy turned to look at Max, surprised at his outburst. "What?" he asked.  
  
"Want puppy cup!"  
  
Kai looked at the 'horse' cup in his hand, then back at the larger ceramic mug on the cupboard shelf the baby was pointing frantically at. "No way!" he scoffed. "You're not getting a -real- cup! Rei!" he exclaimed as the chibi's lower lip began to tremble. "Do something with him! He's crying again!"   
  
"No I not!" Max shrieked as tears fell down his face. "You are!"   
  
"Suurree....." Kai snorted, before slammnig the plastic cup down on the counter next to Max and turning to storm off. The cup hit the back of his head before he reached the doorway, and he spun around to glare at the laughing boy. "You little....."   
  
"Don't touch or say anything to him, Kai!" Rei scolded as he moved in front of the young blonde, protecting him in case Kai's temper got the best of him. "Stop being so mean to him, he's just a baby and he doesn't know any better. All you're doing is upsetting him and making him cry. So why don't you just give him the cup that he wants? It belongs to him anyways so I don't see what the big problem is," he said, as he turned back to his cooking and flipped the 'puppy' pancake which was a nice golden brown now. He grabbed a plate off the table and slid the pancake on before setting it back on the table and coming back for Max after making sure the burner was turned off. Rei would make the others pancakes once he was finished feeding Max since he obviously couldn't get Kai to feed him. After picking the small blonde up, he set him down on a chair only to see that Max was too small and couldn't see other the table top, so he picked him back up and set him down in his lap then pulled the plate closer and handed him the spoon to see what he would do.  
  
Max looked at the spoon, then at Rei, then at Kai with wide blue eyes. A giggle burst out of him a second before his tiny arm reached back then flung the spoon at Kai's head. The slate-haired boy caught it easily, and was about to unleash a wave of pain on the young boy, but Max's bright smile caught him off guard. He gaped as the chibi started clapping, then reaching for him. "Again!" he cooed, pointing at the spoon.   
  
Kai snorted. "No. Spoons are for eating, Max. If you want to throw stuff, wait until Tyson gets up." "Oh." The little chibi replied, before taking the spoon back from Kai's outstretched hand and pushing it into his mouth. "Eathhingggg" he mumbled with a choked laugh. Shaking his head, Kai ignored the boy and grabbed the dog mug from the cupboard, poured some milk for the boy, and placed it on the table in front of him. He dunked in the straw, then backed away quickly, already become aware that Max had a tendency to throw things. "I'll go wake up the others," he called to Rei as he fled the room.  
  
Rei held back a laugh, knowing Kai wouldn't like how he found it funny that Max seemed to like to throw things at him. At least Kai had known better then to do anything more then raise his voice at the boy, but Rei also knew that if any of the others did something wrong, then Kai would just get that much more angry at them.  
  
Rei gasped when he saw Max trying to eat his spoon and immediately pulled it out of his mouth. "That tastes yucky, Max," he said gently as he used the spoon to cut off a small piece of pancake then gave the spoon back to him. "Eat the pancake instead. It's yummy."  
  
As if on cue, Tyson rolled over in bed, nose sniffing the aroma of pancakes in the air. He smiled doozingly before getting up and pushing past Kai on his way out of the bedroom. The genki boy was only half awake, so when he stepped into the kitchen, he didn't notice anything different about Max as he grabbed the puppy pancake off his plate and stuffed it into his mouth, not even stopping to chew as he headed to the fridge for a drink.  
  
Max giggled, then took the spoon and ate the puppy's ear with a big smile. "Puppy tastes good!" he said to Rei with a bright smile, as Tyson entered the room. The boy's eyes grew huge as Tyson scooped up his special puppy pancake and ate it himself, without even asking. Screwing his face up angrily, he opened his mouth and shrieked," MINEEEE!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! GIMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEE BAACCCKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!! WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Kai dashed back into the kitchen just as Max started to bawl, burying his face in Rei's shirt. He shot the Chinese boy a curious look. "What happened?"  
  
"Shoulda protected it better, Max. No reason to cry about it," Tyson replied automatically as he took the orange juice carton out of the fridge and drank right out of it, before sitting down at the table with it.   
  
Rei sent Tyson a glare from over Max's head as he bounced the blonde in his arms, trying to get him to calm down as he whispered to him, promising to make him another puppy pancake that would be even better then the last one and that Tyson wouldn't be allowed near it. As he tried to soothe the toddler, he looked up at Kai then gestured to Tyson. "Tyson ate Max's pancake in one bite."  
  
"What? I've done it before! I don't see what the big problem is! And why's Max crying? He's not the type," Tyson stopped suddenly and stared dumbstruck at the small child sitting in Rei's lap. "What the hell happened to Max?!?"  
  
"What does it look like happened, you idiot?" Kai retorted as he slapped Tyson across the back of the head. Max immediately cheered up and clapped. "Again!" he exclaimed. Kai grinned at the little boy, pleased he had finally stopped crying again, before smacking the genki boy again for him. Max giggled loudly, then stretched his head back to look up at Rei. "More puppy mommy?" he asked with wide eyes as his tiny belly grumbled softly.  
  
Kai pulled out the chair across from Rei and smirked. "Yeah, -Mom-, we're getting hungry."  
  
"Yep. I'll make you an even better puppy, Max," Rei said as he got up and sat Max down in the chair by himself as he went back to the stove to get started. "And you can shu~" he started, then stopped when he realized 'shut up' would be considered a bad word to a child. "Shush up, Kai." he finished, figuring that was good enough as he started to make Max another pancake.  
  
"Ow!... ow!" Tyson exclaimed when Kai hit him. He reached up to rub the back of his head, his gaze never leaving the small form of his best friend in the seat near him. He still wasn't sure what happened besides Max decline in age, but didn't say anything because he didn't want another slap to the head.   
  
Max turned around in his seat to watch Rei cook, mesmerized by his swaying ponytail. Kenny entered the room just as Max reached out to yank the silky hair. Kai noticed what the chibi was planning and leaned over to stop him, yanking the ponytail away from him and tugging on it himself in the process. The baby giggled then sat up to smile inocently at Rei. "Not me!" he cooed, pointing at Kai. "Kai pull."  
  
"You little...."  
  
"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Kenny's voice drew Kai's attention and he forgot about locking Max in the front hall closet until he was 13 years old again. As annoying as he had found Max's immaturity before, it was nothing compared to this! The team leader actually sort of missed the cheerful boy, as he suddenly realized all the extra work and questions that popped up when the blonde was not himself.  
  
"Max is a baby, we don't know why," he said bluntly, grabbing a handful of green t-shirt and hoisting the boy into the air so the Chief could see.  
  
Rei was just about to scold Kai for pulling on his ponytail and trying to frame Max when Kenny came in. He looked over at the red head and smiled a little. "Calm down, Kenny. I'm sure there's a reason behind all of this. There has to be a reason why Max suddenly changed into a baby and... Kai! Don't hold him like that!" he said as he hurried over and gathered the small blonde in his arms. "His shirt doesn't fit and he could fall right out and hurt himself!" he said as he carried Max over to the stove with him to keep an eye on him himself.  
  
"Do ya think it has something to do with that weird stuff we drank last night?" Tyson asked as he rested his chin on his arms and looked at the others. "It's not like we knew what it was... couldn't been some kinda voodoo chibi changing stuff."  
  
Kai snorted. "What kind of idiot would make a voodoo chibi changing potion?!"  
  
"I'm SUCH an idiot!" Lei moaned as he looked through the Blade Breakers' bay windows in the living room and watched the scene unfolding in the kitchen. "I must have misread the magic book. Damn ancient forgotten language! Mariah was right......I -should- have gotten Grandfather to translate it for me." He sighed heavily, then stepped away from the window and headed back to his suite room. "Oh well," he said under his breath, "I'll just have to try again.....after this one wears off. If it ever does."  
  
Kenny was already scanning his database for chibi curses, completely oblivious to the peeping Lei that had just been at the window. "We have to figure out some kind of antidote. I'm sure me and Dizzi can do it, we'll just need some time. Can the rest of you handle Max until then?" he asked, looking at Kai and Tyson skeptically.  
  
"Why don't you just take Max with you? That way the rest of us can.. uh... practice! Yeah! Cuz we all really really need some practice!" Tyson said as he leaned back in his seat and propped his feet on the table. "He's just a kid so he can't cause ya too much trouble, Chief. You'll do a great job being his baby-sitter!"  
  
"Well, I guess I could..." Chief said warily as he arpproached the small boy. Max smiled happily, the snatched the glasses off Kenny's head and put them on his own. "I smart!" he said, and Kai snorted. "Really? Then why do you look so stupid?" Max blinked at him a moment, then slowly began to sniffle.  
  
"Awww......you're making him spring a leak!" Dizzi admonished, and the little blonde's eyes immediately widened with amazement. A talking box?! "Want!" he demanded, reaching for the laptop.  
  
"Huh? You want to see Dizzi? Well, I guess so..." He held the laptop out carefully for Max, who immediately, looked at it and frowned. "Where funny lady?" he asked softly, a confused expression on his small face, before he tried to kick the computer onto the floor. Shrieking, Kenny dove and caught it, then, clutching his beloved laptop to his chest, fled the room wailing about the need to tie Max to the bed until he grew up again, and locked himself in the office room.  
  
"Aww! Come back here, Kenny! He's not so bad! He was just curious! COME BACK!" Tyson called out after him, then slumped in his seat and crossed his arms against his chest. "What are we supposed to do now? Looks like Kai's the one stuck watching him since me and Rei are in need of practice more then him. Aww well... have fun with the tyke, Kai!"  
  
Kai paled. "I can't watch him alone! You're helping Rei!" he ordered, adding with a smirk, "After all, he seems attached to you. You don't want to make him cry, do you? And I don't even know -how- to take care of a little kid. You two should. I'll help Kenny."   
  
Max watched the exchange, a clueless smile on his face. He had no idea everyone was trying to pawn him off. He heard his name a few times, and thought they were fighting over who got to play with him. A large grin spread across his face. "YAY! Play time?"  
  
"You can play with Tyson after you finish your breakfast," Rei said as he slid the new puppy pancake onto Max's plate then sat back down with him in his lap. He used the spoon to cut the pancake up into bite sized pieces then gave Max back his spoon.   
  
"How come I gotta play with him?" Tyson asked.   
  
"Because if you don't, then you'll breakfast will never get made because I'll be too busy with Max to do it," Rei replied simply, which got Tyson to immediately shut up.  
  
Kai smirked, shooting a victorious look at Tyson. Max meanwhile, was carefully scooping up the pancake and trying to get it into his mouth before it fell, like a game. Kai shook his head as the boy giggled, looking down his shirt for a stray pancake chunk. "Thank god he didn't give Max syrup," he mumbled, before realizing something. "What is Max going to wear? All he has on is a t-shirt. I think we should at least get the brat some diapers. I'm not sleeping in his -piddle- again!"   
  
"We'll have to go shopping and get him something else to wear and get a couple more supplies. If this is a curse he's under, then there's no telling how long it could last and if it's from that stuff we drank last night," he paused, making sure the others were listening before continuing. "It could happen to one of us next."  
  
"Ya mean one of us could change into a kid too?" Tyson asked and Rei nodded. "Aww man... that really sucks! I thought it was bad enough that Max was a kid, but I don't wanna be one too!"  
  
Kai also felt himself shudder at the idea of Tyson as a chibi. The idea of himself as a chibi, left in the care of Max or Tyson, was even more terrifying. "We need to find a cure for this, FAST!" he exclaimed, before gesturing at the baby. "I am NOT turning into one of those." Storming out of the room, he grabbed his shoes, and wallet. "C'mon, "he called to the others. "Let's go get those supplies, then we can start trying to figure out what to do next!"  
  
Rei and Tyson looked at eachother, before looking down at what they were wearing and getting out of thier seats. Rei set Max down on the floor next to Kai, before disappearing into the bedroom with Tyson to get dressed and try to find something warmer for the child to wear outside so he didn't catch a cold.  
  
Kai looked down at Max and frowned. "I have to watch him?!" he called in disgust, but he knew if he just left Max alone in the kitchen Rei would probably kill him for it. Sighing, he picked up the blonde boy and carried him into the living room where he collapsed onto the couch to wait for the others. As soon as he sat though, Max looking up at him with a worried look. "No bad now?"  
  
"What?" Kai asked, eyebrows arching, before he remembered why he hadn't let Max sit on him before. "Aw crap! You're still covered in piss!" The boy whimpered and Kai quickly lowered his voice. "It's ok though. I guess I can....wash you....." He cast a worried look at the bathroom, then a hopeful one at the closed bedroom door, but Rei didn't reappear. Cursing, he carried the little boy into the washroom and, after plugging the sink, sat him in it still clothed and turned on the water. As the sink started to fill, he took the soap dispenser and squirted a good glob of liquid soap onto Max. Sighing, he started rubbing it in as the boy giggled and splashed. "Sit still, " he hissed, wiping soap bubbles from his face. "You little brat!"  
  
"Aww! Ain't that just the cutest thing you've ever seen?" Tyson teased as he peeked into the bathroom, smiling at the sight of Kai bathing Max. He stepped into the room, now fully clothed and looked down at the blonde. "Why's he still dressed? Don'tcha think you shoulda stripped him before giving him a bath? That's how I bathe... not so sure 'bout you now."  
  
Kai glared, too embarassed to admit he hadn't wanted to look like a pervert in case Rei caught him stripping a 2 year old. Grumbling, he pulled off Max's dirty shirt and started soaping up the boy's stomach. This sent the chibi into a fit of giggles, and soon even Kai couldn't help but smile slightly, before scopping Max up, wrapping a huge towel around him, and thrusting him into Tyson's arms. "There. You can finish up while I change my shirt," he said with a smirk, gesturing to his wet top.  
  
"Gee thanks Kai," Tyson said sarcastically as he squatted and set Max on the floor to rub the towel up and down his small body, trying to make sure every part of him was dry. "You're gonna have to wait 'til Rei finds something for you to wear to get dressed, so we'll just stay here 'till he comes back for ya, k Max?" he asked as he ruffled the soft blonde hair then poked his nose.  
  
Max giggled before glomping onto Tyson's neck. "Tyson!" he shrieked, laughing giddily, as he tried to climb into the boy's arms. "Play with me!" Kai meanwhile, had retreated into the bedroom, and was secretly trying to watch Rei change out of the corner of his eyes, while shielding his own body as he tried to dress himself as quickly as possible. "So," he said quietly, as he fumbled with his jeans, " Why do you know so much about taking care of brats?"   
  
Tyson laughed as he grabbed Max and then rolled onto his back, bringing his legs up and setting Max down on them on his stomach. He held onto the blonde's hands as he moved his legs up and down, making the young boy 'fly'. "Weeee! Ain't this fun, Maxie?" he asked as he made Max go higher each time. "You're flying!"  
  
Rei shrugged as he finished getting dressed then started to route through Max's bag for something that might fit his friend's younger self. "Well, back in China, Lei's mother used to run the daycare so sometimes Lei and I would help out if she had too much to do, so that's why I know alot when it comes to kids. Good thing too, because it doesn't seem like any of you guys do."  
  
Kai couldn't argue with that. "Well, I've never been around children before," he said as he tightened his scarf, then straightened his tank top and tucked it into his pants. "I was homeschooled, and an only child. It was just me, Grandfather, and other bladers I challenged. It must have been....interesting, to grow up with Lei and the other White Tigers. You must miss them a lot sometimes, right Rei?"  
  
"EEEE!!!!" Max shireked and squealed with excitement as Tyson 'flew' him higher and higher, though in reality, he was no more then a foot or so off the ground, it felt like a thousand feet to the little boy. He gripped Tyson's large hands tightly, shutting his eyes every time he descended, then making them fly right back open when he soared, grinning and laughing hysterically at the face of the boy he had always worshipped and adored. "Higher, Tyson!!!"  
  
Rei's eyes softened and he nodded. "Of course. They're my oldest friends and Lei and I used to be attached by the hip when we were kids... I can't just forget about that," he said quietly before taking out a small blue sweatshirt with a large yellow star on it that Max owned. He figured that would keep him warm enough until they bought him something that would fit better. The chinese boy pushed himself to his feet and went over to the dresser, routing around in it before pulling out a red kerchief that he would use for a diaper until they bought some.   
  
"Higher? Ya wanna go higher?" Tyson asked as he picked Max up and put him on his feet, before making him fly again, this time much much higher. "Are ya having fun, lil guy?" he asked, smiling warmly at the small blonde as they played.   
  
Max eyes widened as he was suddenly thrust much higher, and Tyson suddenly seemed too far away. He started to fidget, then whimper and reached for the older boy urgently. "No! Too high! Want Tyson! Nooo!!" He kicked and started to wobble in the other boy's light grasp, getting more and more upset.  
  
Kai, meanwhile, was watching Rei with a sad frown. He was jealous of Rei's past relationship with Lei, and the fact that Lei obviously still held very strong feelings for the handsome blader. He himself also harboured hidden feelings for Rei, but, without knowing how the Chinese blader felt about Lei, he couldn't bring himself to act on his emotions. Sighing, he finished stalling with his belt buckle and finally headed to the door. "No one expects you to forget your past, Rei," he said softly as he stepped through the doorway, "but don't overlook the relationships you could have right now."  
  
Tyson immediately stopped then lowered the blonde back down and gathered him into his arms, giving him a tight hug. "I'm sorry Maxie. I didn't mean to make you go so high," he apologized as he sat back up, keeping Max in his lap and his arms around him. "I won't do that ever again, ok?"  
  
Rei watched as Kai left the room, silently wondering what he meant when he told him not to overlook the relationships that he could have right now. Sometimes Kai could be so confusing. The raven-haired boy sighed before heading to the bathroom and stopping in the doorway to watch the moment that Tyson was sharing with Max. That was awful cute...  
  
"Ok," Max cooed, instantly forgiving Tyson and giving him a monster-sized hug before planting a sweet little kiss on his chest. "I still love you lots!" Giggling, he snugged down in the other boy's arms, before noticing Rei in the doorway. "Mommy!" he called out, stretching his arms out to the older boy. "Max love you too! You play too?"  
  
Kai leaned against the hallway wall a few steps from the bathroom, listening in with an amused smile as Max gushed on his friends in a more vocal, but no less apparent way then usual. The blonde had always made his affection for his friends obvious, but it was still cute to hear his chibi form shouting it out as he sat naked in the middle of a bathroom, surrounded by older boys.  
  
"I think Max loves everyone today," Tyson grinned as Rei came over and knelt down in front of them, reaching out to pull the blonde to his feet so he could get him dressed.   
  
"Obviously," Rei smiled as he got Tyson to hold Max still while he tied the kerchief around him to serve as a diaper, then slipped the sweatshirt over his head. It was very baggy on him, and fell over one shoulder, but Rei figured that if someone carried him, then it would be no trouble at all. "Ok," he said as he got back up and placed his hands on his hips. "I'd say we're ready to go."  
  
"Finally," Kai said as he stepped forward to lean agaisnt the doorframe. He noticed Max get that familiar big-eyed look on his face and frowned. "Don't even say it, " he warned, cutting him off. The blonde scrunched his face up, eyeing the slate-haired boy for a moment, before blowing a raspberry at him and laughing. He got a mischievious glimmer in his bright blue eyes seconds before yelling, "LOVE YOU!!!!" then squealing and ducking behind Tyson's back, laughing loudly. Kai simply shook his head, fighting against the urge to smile, and muttered, "We shouldn't let him near Tyson while he's so young and impressionable. See? He's already getting stupider!" A small smirk pulled up the corners of his lips and snorted. "Only an idiot would say that," before turning and heading towards the front door, calling out to Kenny that they were leaving as he passed the baracaded office door. Apparently the Chief was taking all precautions to avoid another Chibi attack on his precious Dizzi. 


	3. Never Take a Chibi to a Mall

Wow! I didn't know that peeps even read this fic. But there's been people asking for more, so here it is! Enjoy and remember to review!  
  
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Chapter 3: Never Take a Chibi to a Mall  
  
Rei rolled his eyes fondly before following Kai out of the bathroom and to the front door. Tyson picked Max back up, then quickly followed them. Now that he had spent some time with Max, he had to admit that the chibi really wasn't so bad. He was cute and sweet, just like his older self. The fourteen year old followed the two older boys out the front door, squeezing himself between them both so he was walking in the middle. "So, what store are we going to anyways? I wanna grab something to eat since I missed breakfast."  
  
"You'd want to eat even if you -hadn't- missed breakfast," Kai countered, but then relented and sighed. "OK, we can stop for food. I have Mr Dickenson's credit card. He probably won't mind, as long as you keep it to just ONE meal."  
  
Max caught the word breakfast and grinned. "Ice cream!" Kai sweatrdropped. "I said -breakfast-. not snack."   
  
"Ice cream!"  
  
"No! Breakfast!"  
  
"Ice cream!"   
  
"For the love of...." he caught himself before saying anything too obscene, knowing Rei wouldn't approve of calling a chibi anything as vulgar as what had popped into his head, and sighed. In all honesty, he had always felt guilty cursing at Max, because, even in his normal form, he always did seem exceptionally innocent and vulnerable for a kid his age. He sighed again, then shook his head. "Fine, whatever. Rei? Where are we going? Pick somewhere -close-. "  
  
"There's a mall just over there," Rei said as he pointed to the said building as he led the others towards it. "We'll go there. That way we'll only have to make one stop to get everything we need, baby supplies and breakfast for Tyson."  
  
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Tyson agreed as they crossed the road to the mall, then went inside. Even though it looked fairly small from the outside, the inside seemed huge with several small stores and one large department store that sold everything. "Sweet! I'm gonna find me a place to eat!"  
  
"Sweet!" A little voice echoed, and Kai shook his head. "He would have to copy Tyson, wouldn't he. As if the original isn't already a big enough pain in the ass." Crossing his arms, he looked at Rei. "Are you going to eat too? You can't buy baby clothes without a baby to try them on, right?"  
  
The baby in question looked up at the older boys and laughed. He gave Tyson a curious smile. "Is Kai the daddy?"   
  
"Well no, but I could go and buy the other stuff like diapers, sippy cups, bathroom things..." Rei said as he counted them off on his fingers, then looked up at Kai, meeting his eyes. "Unless you think I should wait until they eat."  
  
Tyson chuckled and gave Max a quick snug before tipping his head curiously. "Daddy of what?"   
  
"It's up to you," Kai replied, being very noncommital, as he headed towards the closest decent looking restaurant. "I'm not going to trust Tyson alone with Max and a table full of knives and forks though." Max watched Kai walk off without Rei and puzzled over it, his brow furrowing with intense thought. "Mommy and daddy-Kai fighting?" he asked finally, looking up at Tyson worriedly. "Still get ice cream?"  
  
Tyson burst out laughing when he caught on to what Max had meant. Now -that- was a hilarious mental image! Rei and Kai as Max's mommy and daddy. He continued to laugh as Rei grabbed his arm and pulled him along as he followed Kai, not wanting the bluenette to leave his sight since he didn't want them to get seperated.   
  
"Kai! Wait up!" Rei called out, trying to get the older boy to slow down a bit.  
  
Max frowned when Tyson laughed at his question, and was about to ask Rei instead, when the chinese boy sprung forward, grabbing Tyson's arm and leading them both after Kai. When the older blader called ahead to the team leader, Max started shouting as well, drawing a lot of attention from other shoppers. "KAIIII!!! NO GO!!!!! WAIT!!!!!!!!"  
  
The slate-haired boy, spun around, and quickly came back, trying to hush Max as a large woman glared at him for making such a sweet little boy upset. "Max! I'm back already! Shut up!" He shot Rei a relieved look as the chibi finally settled down with a grin. "No leave!" he demanded in his squeaky voice, and Kai nodded, embarassed to be taking orders from a child, but not willing to risk another public scene.  
  
"Good job Max! You got Kai to come back," Tyson praised him as he shifted the blonde to his other hip as they walked. He kinda wished someone else would carry Max for awhile since his arms were getting tired, but wasn't about to ask anyone to since Kai would accuse him of being weak. Anyways, it really wasn't -so- bad, and at least he knew the chibi liked him.  
  
"How's that place look?" Rei asked as he gestured to a quiet little ice cream shop with only a couple of people in it. He knew that ice cream would make both Tyson and Max happy, and hopefully they'd be able to burn the sugar's energy off before they got back to their room.  
  
Kai glanced over at it, and shrugged. "Fine, whatever."  
  
"Fine, whatever!" A small voice repeated, and Kai cast a playful glare at Max. "Don't copy me." "Don't copy me!" the blonde echoed, giggling and squirming excitedly in Tyson's arms. Kai smirked, eyes gleaming dangerously. "Max is a baby."  
  
"Max is a baby!"  
  
"Tyson is a fool. -Kai- is the superior blader."  
  
The chibi thought over the large words, then finally shouted, "Tyson is food. Kai is the super burger!"  
  
"What?" Kai exclaimed, flushing with embarassment. "I said blader, not burger!" The chibi only laughed and hid his face in Tyson's jacket. "Burger!" was his muffled reply.  
  
"Super burger?!?" Tyson exclaimed before snorting then laughing just as loudly as before. The mental images were just getting to be too much for him and his face went bright red as he continued to laugh and hold the child in his arms. "Super burger, coming to the rescue! Super Burger!" he sang between laughs. "Ha ha ha!"  
  
"It's your own fault, Kai. You should have said something simplier," Rei teased, but smiled softly so Kai would know that he didn't mean it. "Max is just having fun."  
  
Max began singing along with Tyson, and, after giving Rei a pained look, Kai gave up. Rei was right, like usual. Max was just a kid, and only playing. Smiling slightly. he looked down at the little boy and said, "Yes, I'm the Super Burger...... and I'm about to make Tyson into cat food if you all don't hurry up and order!"  
  
"You don't want that, do ya Maxie," Tyson asked as he smiled down at the blonde as he approached the counter. "Let's see... I'll have the super sundae special," he said, as he gazed at the photo of a large sundae, drizzled in chocolate syrup, sprinkles, peanuts, whipped cream over chocolate ice cream and with a cherry on top. "What about you?"  
  
Max's mouth hung open as he looked at all the diferent types of ice cream to choose from before nervously looking at the impatient man behind the counter. "Ummm......" he cringed then hid his face in Tyson's shirt again. "Want cwoclwate" he murmured to Tyson, holding onto him tightly. "Ok? You say?"  
  
Kai saw the effect the man's sullen attitude was having on his chibified teammate and growled unconsciously, his fists tightening at his sides. "What a jerk," he muttered to Rei, nodding towards the man. "Just tell him, Max," he called over, crossing his arms, "so we can get out of here already, before the I lose my appetite looking at -him-," he added, with a disgusted sneer at the salesman.  
  
"Don't make him do something that he doesn't want to," Rei said as he stepped in front of Tyson and Max and gave the salesman a leveled look of his own. He then grinned slightly, showing off a sharp fang as he pressed his palms against the counter. "He'll have a small chocolate ice cream cone and I'll have a chocolate chip one, ok?" he said lowly before glancing over his shoulder at Kai. "What about you?"  
  
Kai smirked. "I'll have mint chocolate chip, two scoops, on a waffle cone. And don't let me see your dirty fingers touching it, pal. I'm not paying for germs," he said harshly as he pulled Mr Dickenson's VISA out of his pocket and flicked it onto the counter. Max had peeked out of Tyson's shirt when he heard Rei's voice, and was now grinning as he watched the man growl, pull on some latex gloves while cursing them, then finally begin preparing thier treats. "Mine?" Max asked every time a cone was passed over the counter, but his came last, and Kai suspected it was intentional. Glaring, he paid the bill, then made sure to 'accidentally' knock over the prices sign, before covering the chibi's cone with chocolate sprinkles and syrup, then handing it to him. "What?" he barked, noticing the other boys' looks. "He always gets that stuff!" Grabbing a handful of napkins, he stormed out of the store and headed towards the food court to find an empty table with a booster seat of some kind.  
  
Tyson chuckled and stuck his tongue out at the man before following Kai towards the food court. He tried to hurry since he didn't want Max to drip his ice cream on his shirt, and he wanted to get started on his sundae too! It just looked too good and he wanted to take a bite out of it right now.   
  
Rei followed the other three and stopped once they found a table to take Max from Tyson and put him down into the booster seat/high chair. He made sure to keep a few napkins near by, because from the way Max ate his pancakes, he knew most of that ice cream wasn't going to get into the blonde's mouth.  
  
Kai sat down on the middle of the booth to keep Tyson from sitting next to him, then slided over as soon as Rei stepped up, casually asking, "Don't you need to sit next to the kid?" He gestured towards Max, who was already licking at his ice cream and getting chocloate all over his chin and round cheeks. Sighing, Kai carefully began licking his own large cone, keeping a napkin in one hand to avoid looking messy. After watching Tyson and Max eat, he had become much more careful about not getting food all over his own face or clothes.  
  
A loud laugh made him look over at the blonde who had already dropped one scoop onto the table and was trying to pick it up with his hands and push it back onto his cone. All he was susceeding in doing, however, was cover himself, the table, and his clothes in melted chocolate. His laughter was infectious, though, so instead of complaining, Kai just smirked. "Try eating it off the table like a dog, Max," he called over with a laugh, but the boy took his words as a suggestion rather then a joke and, with a wide grin, leaned over and started licking the dirty table top, to everyone's disgust.   
  
Rei smiled before sitting down next to Kai and starting to eat his own cone, until he heard Max's laughter and saw the mess the blonde had already made. "Max, you're making a mess," he said gently as he tapped the boy's chin to get him to lift his head again. "Don't like the table, okay? It's dirty," he said before picking up the stray scoop of ice cream and putting it back on Max's cone for him. "There you go."  
  
Tyson wasn't paying much attention to the mess that Max was making, since he was busy making his own. He was so fixed on eating his sundae, that he didn't care whether it got in his mouth or not, so it ended up all over his face, t-shirt and the table.  
  
Kai cringed internally, expecting Rei to snap at him for telling a baby to lick a filthy public table top, but luckily, Max seemed to be keeping the Chinese blader distracted as he started eating the -bottom- of his cone first. Shaking his head, Kai turned his eyes away from the playing chibi to notice the quite possibly -dirtier- 14 year old across from him. "Tyson! You're worse then Max!" he snapped, glaring at the peanuts stuck to the boy's face. Max looked up and noticed them as well and started giggling, reaching out for Tyson's face, saying, "Yummy! WANT!!!!"  
  
Tyson looked up when Kai addressed him and gave him a guilty grin before looking over at Max and smiling. He wasn't too sure what he wanted, since he wasn't aware of the peanuts stuck to his face, but he leaned closer to Max anyways, assuming that he wantd some of the whip cream stuck to his cheeks. "Go right ahead, Maxie," Tyson told him. "It's an all you can eat, Tyson buffet!"  
  
"I'm not sure who's worse, Max or Tyson," Rei joked as he looked at the mess the two boys made. "I'll clean up Max, you can clean up Tyson, Kai."  
  
"WHAT?!" Kai yelped, blushing quickly, then glaring at the filthy boy across from him, because he could never bring himself to glare at Rei. "You can clean yourself. Maybe take one of those rare showers. It has been almost a month since the last one, hasn't it, Tyson?"  
  
Max ignored the older boys' talk as he greedily grabbed a handful of Tyson's dark hair and pulled the boy close so he could lick the sweet mess off his cheeks and face with a huge grin. When the peanuts and sprinkles were all gone, the little blonde giggled then planted a messy kiss on his friend's cheek, smiling brightly.   
  
Tyson ack!ed when Max grabbed a chunk of his hair and pulled him closer, but only because he hadn't been expecting it. He laughed lightly as Max licked his face clean, then smiled back and kissed the chibi on the nose. "Thanks Maxie," he said before grinning at Kai. "I don't really keep tabs on when I shower, but why should I when I got Max around to clean my face up after I eat?"  
  
"You're a strange one, Tyson," Rei said teasingly before he ruffled Max's hair. "Are you all done with your ice cream, Max?"  
  
"Uhh....." Max looked down at his melted, soggy cone, then over at Tyson's now clean face. "No more," he said almost sadly, before spotting Kai's green cone, which he was almost finished. "Kai!"he exclaimed, eyes bright. The slate-haired boy glanced over at the chibi, an insult already forming on his lips, but, remembering how 'motherly' Rei was about the baby, he held his tongue, and simply popped the rest of his snack into his mouth. "Sorry, Max. All gone." he said between bites. The little blonde blinked at him, considered the fact that Kai hadn't shared then just giggled, and threw his arms in the air for Rei to pick him up. "Go now?" he asked quietly, and the team captain released a sigh of relief.  
  
"We'll go in just a minute," Rei said as he grabbed a couple of napkins and began the task of cleaning up Max's face and hands, and dabbing the ice cream drips off his shirt. It wasn't too easy to do, since the blonde kept moving, but Rei got it done eventually and playfully dabbed Max on the nose before getting to his feet. "Ok, we can go now," Rei said as he hoisted Max into his arms, holding him close and securely. "Can you grab the trash, Tyson?" he asked, knowing better then to ask Kai.  
  
"Hmm? Oh sure," Tyson said as he got up, gathered the garbage then walked off to dump it all in the trash before coming back. "Where to now?"  
  
Kai got up to follow Rei, keeping out of range of the chibi's curious, sticky fingers. He shrugged at Tyson's question, not even sure what it was they were here to buy, except for the obvious. "Where do you buy diapers? A diaper store?" Max giggled. "Kai wear dippers?"  
  
"If you ever ask that again, I'll kill you Max!" The older boy sneered, but the little blonde just laughed, one hand wrapped tightly around Rei's ponytail.   
  
"Don't be mean, Kai," Rei scolded him as they headed out of the food court and to a store he had seen when they had come in. "He's just curious, right Max? But no, Kai doesn't wear diapers, only you do. So, if you're good while we go shopping, then I'll buy you a toy, ok? How would you like that?"  
  
Max's big blue eyes lit up. "A toy? Any?!" He gripped Rei's hair tighter. "I be good!" he promised, giving the older boy his biggest smile. "I want a bunny, Momma! Or a turble!" Kai shook his head. "Have fun making him choose just one," he called to Rei as he broke from thier group and walked into the department store the Chinese blader had directed them to. He glanced around quickly, before noticing a sign indicating the "Children's" section. Frowning, he crossed his arms, then casually made his way towards the racks of tiny sweaters and track pants. A bright green t-shirt with a purple turtle on the front caught his eye and he picked it off the rack. "What size is Max now?" he asked as he looked at the price tag, then grimaced. Thank god they had taken Mr Dickenson's credit card. There was NO way they could afford to clothe Max on their own!   
  
He passed the shirt to Rei as he approached. "It reminded me of Draciel," he said, making an excuse for the fact he was actually picking out baby clothes.  
  
"Then we'll get you a bunny or a turtle," Rei told him as he followed Kai through the department store. He looked behind him, to see Tyson lagging behind and looking extremely bored. Now that he had gotten his breakfast, there was nothing left that he wanted to do, especially not shop for baby clothes. When they caught up with Kai, Rei took the t-shirt then set Max down on the floor. Crouching down in front of him, he held the t-shirt up to Max's front and nodded. It seemed to be the right size, so he held it away from Max and turned it so the blonde could see the picture on the front. "Do you like this one, Max?"  
  
Max squealed when he saw the shirt. "TURBLE!" He tried to grab onto it, but Kai caught him by the back of his shirt. "Wait until we buy it before you get it filthy, Max." The boy just looked up at him with his bright blue eyes before clamping onto Kai's leg. The older boy's surprised exclamation drew a few stares as he reached down to rip Max off his legs and push him against Rei. "Hug him!" he commanded, before backing a way, a faint blush staining his cheeks. Muttering about finding some pants, he dashed off between the racks, leaving the giggling affectionate chibi behind him fast.  
  
"Oi... Max is just asking for a death sentence," Rei muttered to himself before reaching out and giving the small blonde a hug. He then stood up, letting Max stay on the floor so he could route through a nearby rack for a couple of other shirts, since he had a feeling Max would need them with the way he ate.   
  
Meanwhile, Tyson had wandered off, growing easily bored of standing in the baby section while Rei and Kai picked out clothes for Max. He headed for the electronics section and plopped down on a large leather couch that was place right in front of a big screen TV. Now this was how shopping should always be! Nice seat, good shows and no walking!  
  
Max watched Rei sort through clothes for about 2 seconds before he got bored. Grinning, he crawled under the rack of shirts the chinese boy was looking through, and ran in the direction he had seen Kai going. Kai had already grown too embarassed to stay in the children's section, and had wandered off towards the hobbies section to look at the new beyblade parts. The chibi spotted his scarf floating behind him as the captain left and scampered after him, covering his mouth with two tiny hands to keep from making any noise and ruining the fun when he 'caught' Kai. His short legs were no match for Kai's though, and as fast as he tried to go, he lost track of his older teammate quickly.   
  
"Kaiii!" he called loudly, but the boy was out of range of his tiny voice. Pouting, Max wandered towards the big "Barbie" sign hanging over the toys section, a grin spreading over his face as he saw the bin of stuffed toys. Running up, he tried to pull himself up over the ledge to touch the plushies, but was too small. "Boost!" he said, waving his hands in the air insistently. When no large hands caught him around the waist and lifted him, he spun around, a frown on his face. "Mommy! Boost! UP!" His eyes widened. "Mommy?" His small voice echoed in the narrow, empty aisle, and Max blinked quickly, lower lip beginning to quiver. "Tyson? Kai?" Realization began to dawn on him as situation sank in. He was lost. "MOMMY!!!!!!" he wailed, falling down onto his bottom, and sitting in the middle of the toys aisle, tears streaming down his face. "MOOOOOOOMMMMMMAAAAA!!!!!"  
  
Rei noticed Kai wander off but didn't think anything about it since that's just how the bluenette was. He never stuck around for long, and Rei knew that it was a rare case that Kai had even stayed in the baby section for as long as he did. While routing through the rack, he found a couple of things that he thought would be cute on Max, but wanted the child's opinion. "Max, what about..." he paused, only now noticing that the blonde wasn't in sight. "Max?" he said more slowly as he bent down and looked beneath the rack and all around. After searching through the whole clothing section, the raven-haired boy felt a stab of panic hit him dead in the chest. Where could Max have gone? Maybe he was just off with Kai... that had to be it. Kai must have taken him someplace.   
  
Leaving the clothing behind to get back once he found Max, he went off in search of Kai and soon found him looking at some Beyblades. He looked around, once again not seeing Max and feeling that wave of panic return. He quickly grabbed Kai's arm, looking up at him with worried golden eyes. "I can't find Max."  
  
Kai spun around when someone grabbed his arm, his other hand already tightening into a fist, but stopped short when he saw it was Rei, and how scared he looked. "Rei? What..." His crimson eyes widened as Rei told him Max was missing. If it was anyone else, Kai would have screamed at them for letting the child out of their sight, but he could never bring himself to yell at Rei. "Don't worry, Rei. I'm sure Tyson must have him. The idiot just didn't mention it to you, when he took the kid. C'mon, they're both probably looking at video games, like usual."  
  
"You think so?" Rei asked, and now that he thought about it, that did sound like something Tyson would do. He let go of Kai's arm, then turned and ran back down the aisle to where he believed the electronics section was, even though he wasn't absolutely sure since this -was- his first time here.  
  
Kai dashed after Rei, abandoning the attack ring he had been eyeing earlier. "Wrong way," he called, catching Rei's arm as he noticed the "Electronics" sign a few rows to their left. Holding Rei's hand, he ran that way, pulling the Chinese boy behind him. Tyson was easy to spot as he lounged in front of a wide screen TV, and Kai couldn't help but notice, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, the empty space on the couch next to the other boy. "Tyson!" he barked as he stopped in front of the younger blader, panting slightly. "Where's Max? Rei's worried! You should have told him what you were doing, not just grab the kid! I thought he might have been kidnapped, you idiot!"  
  
Rei immediately noticed the empty spot next to Tyson and realized that Max wasn't here either. Even if he was here at one time, he wasn't here now so now Rei had no idea where to look next. His hand unconsciously squeezed Kai's, which he hadn't let go yet as he talked quietly to himself. "Max isn't here... he was with me, and I lost him..."  
  
Tyson jumped when Kai and Rei suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking the TV screen so he couldn't finish watching The Price Is Right. His eyebrows knitted together, not liking how he seemed to be getting blamed for something he didn't do. "I didn't take Max! Last I saw, he was with the two of you! Sounds like you lost him to me!"   
  
When Tyson said that, Rei let go of Kai's hand then ran off again, more determined then ever to find the young blonde before something bad happened to him, something Rei would never be able to forgive himself for. He should have kept a better eye on him! What kind of 'mommy' was he if he let Max get lost so easily?  
  
Kai growled at Tyson, about to really lay into him, when Rei suddenly ran off. The oldest boy gasped, watching the chinese blader disappear with wide eyes before finally realizing Rei was gone. Forgetting about Tyson for the moment, he chased after Rei, worried by the fact that the normally calm and thoughtful boy was behaving so irrationally and impulsively. What they should be doing is alerting the store staff and splitting up, not running in a panic around the store, but that's what they were doing. Spotting a familiar long ponytail flick round a corner ahead of him, Kai tore after it, calling loudly, "Rei!! Wait! I'll help you look! Hey, Rei!!!"  
  
Rei came to a stop when he heard Kai call out for him, and he waited for the older boy. When Kai showed up, Rei was running his hands nervously through his bangs, ruffling up the already poofy hair. "I can't believe I lost him... Kai! I lost Max! He was with me and then he was gone and now... I don't know where he is!" he said in a panicked voice, as he kneaded at his scalp.  
  
Without thinking, Kai grabbed Rei into his arms, holding him in a tight embrace. "Don't worry Rei. We'll find him, I promise. It's not your fault." He rubbed the other boy's back soothingly, his own eyes closed tightly to hide his own concern. " You know Max! He always wanders off. Knowing him, he's probably in the toy section right now, trying to pick out which one he wants us to buy him. He's fine, Rei. Please calm down, ok? I'll find him for you. Let's start walking. He has to be in the store somewhere."  
  
Rei seemed to relax a bit in Kai's arms as he pressed his forehead against Kai's shoulder in an effort to calm himself down. He knew that he was panicking, taking all the blame for Max's disappearance even when it wasn't anyone's fault. He still felt that it was his, since Max was with him when he disappeared. Rei stayed in Kai's arms for a few moments, feeling safe in his embrace, before pulling back and smiling weakly at him, worry still etched upon his pale face. "Okay, let's go and see if we can find him."  
  
Kenny chuckled as he watched the Zellers drama unfold on his laptop screen. He had affixed tiny surveillance bugs to each bladers clothing about a month ago to help him monitor and improve their blading styles, but now he was using the resource to keep an eye on his teammates as well as observe chibi Max, looking for clues to a cause and antiodote for this mysterious ailment. The Chief chuckled as he watched Max bawl pitefully while Rei and Kai were hugging and consoling one another just two aisles away. Tyson was still sitting on his butt, yelling prices at Bob Barker.  
  
"How can they not hear the rugrat?" Dizzi demanded, her maternal insiticts coming through. "Remind me to buy those boys some hearing aids!" Kenny just snorted in response. After the run in he had with the chibi, the boy was secretly enjoying seeing him so miserable and scared. "That's what he deserves for messing with -my- Dizzi!" he muttered, glasses gleaming in the low light.  
  
Max continued to cry, though his voice had by now grown weak and ragged. He mewled for Rei weakly, holding his arms around himself sadly, convinced they had all forgotten him. His imagination ran rampant, making his child's mind start to believe he would be left here until after the store closed, and then he was going to be attacked by evil janitors and stuffed and made into a plushie as well. He didn't want a toy anymore... all he wanted was to be found by his friends. To be picked up and hugged. "SUPER BURGER!!!!!" he called, hiccupping miserably at the end.  
  
"What was that?" Kai asked, not sure if he had heard something or not. He knew Rei's hearing was better then his, so he looked at the other boy curiously. "Did you hear someone calling Super Burger, or has Tyson's stupidity rubbed off on me?"  
  
"Not unless it rubbed off on me too," Rei said as he pulled out of Kai's hold and walked slowly, looking down the aisle to see if he saw anything. When he came to the second aisle, he stopped at the end of it, a wave of relief rushing through him when he saw Max at the end of it. He quickly made his way down, feet hitting the floor softly and making it so he could barely be heard. When he was a couple of feet away from the blonde, he felt his knees grow weak and he fell onto them, as he looked at his teammate, trying to determine whether he was hurt or not before crawling forward and gathering the small child in his arms. He sat back, holding Max tightly to his chest and he rocked him back and forth. "I'm so sorry, Max," he said quietly. "I'm so sorry..."  
  
"Momma?" Max asked, sniffling as he felt strong arms scoop him up suddenly and pull him against a wide, warm chest. He lifted his red eyes to look at the chinese boy's face, a relieved smile brightening his own face up immediately. "MOMMY!!" he yelled, wrapping his arms tightly around the other boy's neck and burrowing his face into Rei's neck. Cuddling against the other boy , he opened his eyes, and peeked over Rei's shoulder, spotting Kai a few steps away. "Where you go?" he whimpered, giving Kai a sad look. "I try to catch you."   
  
"What?" Kai asked, looking at the little boy. He had been relieved to see Max safe in Rei's arms when he rounded the last corner, but now the chibi's wide, sad eyes reminded him of an abandoned puppy, and he felt the guilt rising in his throat, making him feel ill. "I didn't mean to leave, Max. I didn't notice you following me."   
  
Rei rubbed Max's back soothingly as he tried to get his own emotions back under control. He had been so worried and scared when Max had gotten lost, and he feared that he would never see his blonde teammate again and it would all be his fault. Then the others would shun and turn their backs on him, leaving him all alone again. Rei always felt very highly about his friends, which is why he was so torn up when the White Tigers accused him of being a traitor, turning his back on them when he never did. Holding Max tightly, he gingerly kissed the blonde's forehead. "Kai would have waited for you if he knew you were there, Max. But everything's okay now because we got you back... I was so worried about you! Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"  
  
Max shook his head before pressing tighter against Rei's chest. "Missed you," he mumbled, snuggling under the other boy's chin. A soft sigh escaped his lips, brushing against Rei's neck. "Lost you," he said quietly. "but I found the bunnies," he added with a tiny giggle. Kai overheard and snorted, a smile playing around the corners of his lips. "I should have known you'd be here, Max. You're nothing but trouble! " The little blonde looked over at him and stuck out his tongue. "No! You are!"   
  
Rei ran his hand through Max's soft blonde hair as he continued to rock with the child, while sitting in the middle of the aisle. He was so thankful that they had found him, and the last thing he wanted to do was let him go, in case he got lost again. "I think you're -both- trouble and with the way you two are always worrying me, you'll be the death of me!" Rei said with a smile. When he said that Kai worried him, he meant when the bluenette would go off by himself without telling anyone, then return hours later without saying a word. The raven-haired boy always hid his worries though, since he knew Kai wouldn't appreciate them, but he could never stop them completely.  
  
Kai's eyebrows shot up, his surprise evident on his painted face. "You worry about me?" he asked, voice full of shock and disbelief. He had no idea what he had ever done to make the other boy concerned. To him, when he wandered off, he assumed the others didn't even notice, or better yet, probably celebrated his absence as a holiday from training. He would never think that Rei might miss his company. A frown pulled at his face. "What have I done?"  
  
"Uhh..." Rei blushed, not intending for Kai to catch onto what he said. He ducked his head, avoiding eye contact with the older beyblader as he held chibi Max to his chest. "It's just that... when you wander off... I always worry because I don't know where you are or what's going on, or if you're even okay..." he admitted, his blush deepening over his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. "It's not your fault though, I just worry too much I guess."  
  
Now it was Kai's turn to blush as he watched the other boy fidget under his inspection. "I... I didn't think anyone cared. I'll let you know where I'm going from now on," he promised softly, eyes downcast as a faint flush tinged his striped cheeks. "So you don't worry."  
  
"Me and Tyson like when Kai go 'way. No twaining!" Max confessed, covering his chubby cheeks with two hands to bite back the guilty giggles. Kai eyed him, a playful growl rising in his throat. "You better watch it Max...."  
  
"Thanks Kai," Rei said sincerely as he looked back up, giving Kai a soft smile before he started to tickle Max's belly. "Don't tell him that! He'll just make you train harder and then there won't be as much time for play!" he said playfully as he continued his tickle assault.   
  
Max shrieked and squealed with laughter, and soon Kai joined in as he watched the chibi wiggle happily under Rei's quick fingers. Impulsively, the slate-haired boy dropped to his knees next to Rei and ran his own fingers up the other blader's ribs, then down his spine. "Are you ticklish too, Rei?" he asked, eyes twinkling with amusement. Max looked up and laughed. "Yeah! Let's tickle Mommy!"   
  
Rei visibly tensed when Kai's fingers ran over his ribs and spine and he bit down on his lower lip, trying to keep himself from laughing, but it didn't work very well and he soon burst out laughing as he tried to move away from Kai. It didn't work very well, since with Max in his lap, he couldn't go far and he had to undergo the torture of Kai's fast fingers. "No! Stop!" he managed to choke out between laughs. "It tickles!"  
  
"It tickles?!" Kai gave Max a smile over Rei's head, and the chibi grinned right back "It's a-posed to tickle!" Max yelled, squirming around until he was facing Rei, and able to run his own tiny fingers up and down the Chinese boy's chest, mimicking the motions Rei had done to him seconds before to make him giggle helplessly. Kai grinned, increasing the torture, secretly enjoying the feel of touching his teammate's strong body.   
  
"No! Stop it!" Rei said again through his laughs, as he helplessly tried to get away from the probing fingers. He was so busy laughing, that he didn't hear someone approach until they were standing right over them.  
  
"Hey guys! Whatcha doing?" Tyson asked as he leaned over to see what was happening better. He grinned once he realized they were tickling Rei and got down on his knees to attack the chinese boy's sides, making him laugh even harder and fight back even less then before.  
  
Kai frowned slightly when Tyson arrived, jealousy erasing the happiness from the moment for him as the other boy put his hands all over Rei, making him laugh just as hard as Kai had. 'Hmph'ing, he sat back on his knees, and crossed his arms, a tiny pout crossing over his face as the dark-haired boy ran his fingers up the Chinese blader's sides. Disgusted with the display as much as himself for becoming so jealous, Kai rose hastily to his feet and stormed out of the aisle, Max's voice trailing after him, calling him back, but he didn't stop to answer the chibi. He just wanted to get away, fast.  
  
Max pouted, leaning against Rei's heaving chest. "Why Kai go?" he asked sadly. "He no like game? Maybe he want turn for tickles?"  
  
As Rei tried to get his breathing back to normal, Tyson took it upon himself to field Max's question. "Maybe he had to go to the bathroom or he's just walking away like usual. Don't worry, Maxie, he always finds his way back eventually," he assured the toddler.  
  
"That's right, Max. He'll be back soon," Rei said, though frowning since Kai had already broken his promise by not saying where he was going. The chinese blader got to his feet, lifting Max up too then taking him to the plushie bin. "Since you were so good while you were lost Max, you can have two toys," he told him, saying he could have two since he was still feeling guilty that this ever happened.  
  
Max's eyes lit up. "Two? Really?!" Wiggling free of Rei's hold, the blonde dropped into the bin with an excited yelp, and immediately began crawling around and digging deep, seeking out the softest, "bestest" stuffed animals. When he re-emmerged, a soft, light brown floppy-eared bunny was clutched in one hand, and a shaggy, long-haired black dog plushie was held tightly in the other. He held the dog up with an excited smile. "Look like Tyson!" he exclaimed, giggling happily. "There no Kai or Momma though, so you be bunny! Kai be bunny's ears!"  
  
A snort at the end of the aisle drew the chibi's eyes. "I'm the -ears-?" Kai asked, arms crossed across his chest. Max laughed. "You back! Where you go Kai? I thought you go for good... or long time." The team captain fidgetted slightly. "I forgot to tell Rei where I was going." he said quietly, slightly ashamed, before straightening up and meeting the Chinese boy's eyes. "I don't break promises," he said calmly, letting his arms fall to his sides. "I stopped an aisle down and turned back," he confessed.   
  
"Are you trying to say that I look like a dog?" Tyson asked as he eyed the plushie in Max's hand.  
  
"No, he's trying to say you look like a shaggy, messy, dark-haired dog," Rei joked as he reached in and scooped Max out of the bin, then set him down on the floor with his new toys. He then straightened and smiled at Kai, glad that he hadn't forgotten about his promise. Rei nodded, golden eyes shining warmly at the bluenette. "Thanks Kai, but are you okay? You left pretty quickly..."  
  
Tyson crouched down beside Max and poked at the dog plushie. "Doesn't look like me at all!"  
  
Max laughed and bopped Tyson on the nose with his bunny. "Yes! It's Ty, the super dog! And Rei, the super bunny! And Kai, the super ears!" the chibi exclaimed in an excited voice, before hugging the toys tightly, his eyes squeezed shut to make room on his face for a monstrously huge grin. Kai couldn't help but smile as well, looking at the happy chibi, then at the happier blader in front of him. His smile faded as soon as Rei's did however, and the chinese boy looked concerned.   
  
"I'm fine," he assured Rei, before sighing and dropping his voice very low so Tyson wouldn't overhear them. "I just didn't like it when Tyson showed up and joined it. It was..... uncomfortable," he confided, blushing slightly, before raising his voice again to quickly hide his embarassment. "I thought I was the super BURGER Max?" he asked, a pretend frown on his face.   
  
"You can be the super burger ears!" Tyson chimed as he grinned at the team leader. "Least you don't gotta be a ratty ol' dog. You get to share a toy with Rei, that outta make you -both- happy," he winked, not sure at all what was going on between them, but he did know that Kai favoured Rei over the rest of them.  
  
Rei blushed slightly and bowed his head again so that the others wouldn't see before he started to head down the aisle. What had Tyson meant by that? Was there something that he didn't know? He knew that he liked Kai, enjoyed the way that Kai was never mean to him and how he sometimes even confided in him, but was the feeling mutal? Rei stopped at the end of the aisle and turned to face the others. "Let's get going. We still have some things to get."  
  
Kai blushed as well, then glared angrily. "Shut up Tyson! If it were up to me, you wouldn't be the dog, you'd just be the dog's ass!" He immediately regretted his outburst as soon as a small curious voice called out, "Ass? What that? Kai? What's a ass? It that Super Dog's ears?" The blonde cocked his head to the side, deep in thought. "Are you Rei Bunny's ass?"  
  
"No! I'm not Rei's ass!" Kai blanched, unsure what to do. Stumbling over his words he said quickly, "You don't need to know ok, Max? Forget it! Let's go get some candy!" he finally said with fake enthusiasm as he scooped up the toddler and carried him awkwardly down the aisle, hoping to distract him so he'd forget, and maybe even distract Rei as well.  
  
Rei put his hands on his hips and gave Kai the 'look' silently scolding him for teaching the baby a swear word and then trying to make him forget it by bribing him with candy. He didn't want to say anything to Kai, since it might cause Max to start saying the word again, so he'd just let Kai deal with it.   
  
Tyson laughed, thinking it was funny that Kai taught Max a swear word, since he had been wondering how long it would take. He got up and followed the other boys, still snickering under his breath from the word and how awkward Kai looked carrying the small blonde in his arms. It didn't look very comfortable for Max, that's for sure.  
  
Max fidgeted, trying to free his leg which was caught uncomfortably against Kai's hard stomach. "Stuck...." he whined, but Kai ignored him, too intent on getting something sugary into the chibi's mouth to block out any inappropriate words that might try to come out. His sneakers squeaked down the aisles in a hurry, before he finally spotted a stand of early Halloween candies. "Perfect!" he exclaimed, before grabbing a bag of rockets, ripping it open, and forcing a few sweets into Max's mouth. "Eat 'em!" he demanded.   
  
Max looked up at him, slowly chewing. "These fizzy," he complained, but Kai just scowled. "You wanted candy," he reminded the baby. "Nuh uh!" the blonde protested. "Wanted plushies!"   
  
"Well eat them anyways, damn it!" He froze as soon as the words slipped out, mentally smacking himself a few times.   
  
"Damn?" Max echoed, eyes wide and inncoent.  
  
"Kai! Would you please stop swearing in front of Max?!?" Rei said when him and Tyson caught up to the other two in the candy aisle, He stepped forward, arms out and gestured to the blonde. "Give him here," he said before taking Max back and holding him properly. "Poor lil guy. Don't listen to what Kai says, okay? He's got a bad potty mouth that needs flushing," Rei gave Kai another dirty look before carrying Max back to the clothes section to get the things he left there earlier.  
  
Tyson whistled lowly as he stood beside Kai, watching Rei as he left with Max. "He really lay it on ya, Kai. I hope if I turn into a baby, he takes care of me. He does a good job. Let's the kid get away with murder, and just gets mad at the other two. That's how it should be!" he grinned. "Rei sure is great at what he does."  
  
A loud slap resounded in the quiet aisle as Kai smacked Tyson across the back of his head, knocking his hat to the floor. "Shut up, Tyson," he growled, "or I'll be sure to take 'extra special' care of you when you're a kid." Crossing his arms, he stalked after the upset Chinese boy, leaving the opened candy bag on the shelf for someone else to clean up. He caught up to Rei quickly and shadowed him as he wandered around the clothing aisle. Max was trying to convince Rei to explain Kai's 'funny' words to him, before he spotted the older boy over his 'momma's' shoulder, and grinned. "Say more funny words, Kai!" the boy asked, eyes wide and gleaming. Kai shrank and cringed as the chibi laughed, before frowning. "Those aren't funny words, Max, they're uh..... well, they're dirty words. And I shouldn't have said them, so I came to..... take them back?" His face showed his discomfort and unease with this situation, but he wanted to fix this problem before Rei got any more upset with him. "Your 'Mom' was right, Max. You shouldn't copy what I say, ok?"  
  
"Ouch! Gah! Ahhh...!" Tyson whined as he rubbed the back of his head where Kai had hit him. He wasn't sure what he had said to make Kai so upset suddenly, but he wasn't about to ask since that would get him another slap to the head. So, he just muttered things to himself as he put his hat back on his head, then trudged after the others. This shopping trip was getting old fast, and he just wanted to get out of there and see if Kenny had come up with the antidote yet.  
  
"That's right Max, because those words will make your mouth dirty and then I'll have to wash them out with soap and that won't taste good," Rei said, even though he would never wash a child's mouth out with soap, Tyson and Kai, on the other hand, that was a totally different story.  
  
Max pouted. "No want eat soap!" he protested, before pointing at Kai. "Wash Kai! He dirty!" The boy stuck out his tongue at his older teammate, giggling slightly. "He smelly too!"   
  
"Hey!" Kai began, then quickly shut up. After his last outburst, Rei probably -would- wash his mouth out if he let his temper get the better of him, and another curse word slipped out. Sighing instead, he offered the Chinese boy a weak smile, trying to distract him asgain. "So, are we almost done here yet?"  
  
"Almost. I just need to grab the diapers and a couple of other things then we'll be ready to go," Rei said as he passed Max to Kai, letting him hold onto him before holding his hand out. "Can I have the credit card? It will go alot faster if I just grab the things and pay while you and Tyson watch Max."  
  
"Sure," Kai said, before frowning. He was holding Max awkwardly and didn't think he'd be able to get his wallet from his pocket without dropping the blonde. Max didn't help the situation much by wiggling around, trying to get comfortable by still giggling about Rei feeding Kai soap when they got home.   
  
"Uhh..." The team leader flushed slightly under his blue face paint, before saying in a low voice," It's in my wallet. You'll have to grab it, Rei, my hands are full."   
  
"Umm, sure," Rei said, blushing as well as he went behind the bluenette then shyly put his hand into Kai's back pocket. His hand trembled slightly as he grasped the wallet then pulled it out, quickly opening it and fishing through the cards before finding the right one. He then shut the wallet and quickly put it back before jogging off to the baby supplies, calling a quick "See ya later!" over his shoulder, not wanting Kai to see how red his face had gotten over such a simple task.  
  
Tyson joined up with them, casting a quick glance as Rei jogged off then back at Kai and Max. "So mommy ditched ya huh? Where'd he go? Is he coming back?" he asked, not realizing how those questions may sound to Max.  
  
Max glanced up at Tyson, then twisted around to watch Rei run off. Kai didn't even notice the chibi's eyes begin to fill with tears until it was too late. "NOOO!!!!!" Max wailed loudly, making the older boy jump and almost drop him. "MOMMMMMYYYYYY!!!! NO GO!!!!!!" The blonde struggled to free himself from Kai's tight grasp and run after the chinese blader, but Kai held him close, panicking as the boy only cried harder and screamed.   
  
"Tyson, you idiot!" he hissed. "Do something!!"  
  
"Like what?" Tyson yelled, trying to be heard over Max's screaming. "I didn't do nothing! Uhh... Maxie, it's okay! Rei will be back. He likes you! Yeah, so stop crying cuz uh... Rei WON'T come back if you keep acting like a BABY!"  
  
"TYSON!" Kai bellowed, as Max started wailing even harder, terrified Rei really -wasn't- coming back now. Hiccups shook his tiny body as he cried. "I'm not a baby!! I want my Mommy!!! I WANT MOMMY!!!!" Tyson and Kai's yelling was only upsetting him further, and he started coughing as he sobbed, hitting his captor's chest with tiny fists. "Lemme go! Want Momma!"  
  
They were drawing a lot of attention, and soon a large, heavyset woman stepped forward, eyeing them dangerously. "Is everything all right over here? Where is this boy's mother? Are you supposed to be taking care of him?"  
  
Kai glared at her. "What do I look like? A kidnapper? Mind your own business!" he snapped.   
  
"'Course we're supposed to be taking care of him or else we wouldn't have him!" Tyson replied, eyes narrowing which wasn't like him at all. He glared at the large woman as he rubbed the underside of his nose. "It's not -our- fault he doesn't like us as much as his mommy and that he's a cry baby!"  
  
"SHUT UP TYSON!!!" Kai roared, scaring Max even more. The little blonde had long since given up calling Rei and was now just wailing and sobbing, his voice raw when he did try to speak. "You no like me!" he cried, covering his face with his hands. "No one like me!!"  
  
Kai cringed, torn between smacking Tyson, smacking the annoying fat woman, and smacking himself for letting Rei wander off and leave him with the emotional and sensitive boy. The Chinese blader -knew- Kai wasn't good with kids! He could just imagine Rei's laughing face hiding around a corner nearby, enjoying the show, even though in the back of his mind, he knew Rei would -never- do something like that. He was too frustrated and irritated to think straight.   
  
Kenny, however, was -really- enjoying the scene playing out in the mall as he spyed on them through the small receptor he had placed on one of the buttons on Tyson's shirt. Dizzi was disgusted by the Chief's sense of humour, and logged off, but Kenny didn't even notice as he leaned over the laptop, eyes glued to the screen.  
  
Rei had finished paying and was heading back to where he had left the others when he heard Max's crying and saw a small crowd of people gathered in the children's clothing section. He automatically knew who had to be the cause of this, and pushed his way through until he got to the middle where his teammates were. He wasn't sure what was going on, besides the fact that Max was bawling and there were alot of people glaring at Kai and Tyson.   
  
"What's going on here?" Rei asked as he shoved the bags into Tyson's arms and approached Kai and Max. "What's wrong with Max?"  
  
"Mommy's back!" Tyson announced as he set a couple of the bags on the floor, then looked at the large woman again. "See! Told ya Rei'd be back!"  
  
Kai snorted. "You told him Rei was -never- coming back, idiot! You're the reason he won't stop crying!" Holding out the boy to Rei, Kai explained, "Tyson decided to tell Max you ditched us, then when Max started crying he added you were never coming back because he was a cry baby! I've been trying to make him stop since you left, but all these gawking -idiots-," he yelled, glaring dangerously at the crowd around him until they started fidgeting, then shuffled away, "didn't help."  
  
Rei took Max and bounced him gently in his arms as he pressed their cheeks together, just to let the blonde know that he was back and to try and calm him down since he was crying so hard that it seemed to be getting hard for him to breathe. As he worked on soothing the toddler, he glared daggers at Tyson and bared his pointy white fangs.   
  
"I can't believe you would tell Max such a lie, Tyson! You should know better then that! Look how upset you've made him! You have no right to tell Max that I wasn't coming back or that I thought he was a cry baby because it's -not- true! You jerk!" He exclaimed as he snatched the bags out of Tyson's hands then headed towards the washroom to get a diaper and some clothes that fit onto Max.   
  
Tyson was surprised by Rei's reaction, never hearing him raise his voice that high before at anyone. "I didn't mean it..." he said quietly. "Just didn't think... how was I supposed to know it would make Max cry so much? I'm no baby expert!'  
  
Kai's mouth hung open as he gaped at Rei's departing back. "Shit..." he muttered. "I've never seen him so pissed. Good job Tyson," he said sarcastically, before crossing his arms. "Should we follow them?" he asked nervously, dreading having to confront that angry face again, but not wanting to risk losing Rei in the large mall. "You really did it this time..."  
  
Max calmed down as soon as he felt Rei's arms around him, and smelt that familiar, comforting scent. Still sniffling and hiccuping, he clung to Rei's shirt, whimpering quietly as tears streaked down his face. "Where you go?" he asked sadly. "You still love me?"  
  
"I didn't mean to make Max cry like that! I thought I was helping!" Tyson exclaimed before pouting and crossing his arms against his chest. "I guess we should follow so we don't get seperated, but let's keep some distance between us because I don't want Rei yelling at me like that again..."  
  
Rei kicked the door to the washroom open and stepped in, dropping the bags to the floor then getting down on his knees. He wiped away a few of Max's tears with his thumb, as he smiled warmly down at the young blonde. "Of course I still love you. I only went to buy you some diapers and then I was coming right back. You should know that I would never leave you... I'm your mommy."  
  
Max smiled up at the older boy, his eyes red and puffy. "I love you too." he said softly, before clinging to Rei's chest and nuzzling against him. Now that he had his mommy back, he was NEVER going to let him go again!  
  
"You deserved it," Kai said bluntly, before starting to follow Rei. "Next time, just keep your big mouth shut."  
  
Rei smiled softly as he stroked the boy's head for a few moments before reaching out and pulling one of the bags towards him. "How about if we get you dressed now? I got you a couple of things that I think you'll really like Max..."   
  
"It was your fault too! You were the one who couldn't get Max to stop crying. If you did, then Rei would never have known what happened!" Tyson protested.  
  
Max released the boy's neck to look up at him, then at the bags curiously. "Surprises? Turbles?" he asked quietly, wiping at his nose with his sleeve endearingly, before clutching his Rei bunny tightly. "I like presents," he said with a tiny smile.  
  
Kai glared at Tyson. "If you hadn't made him cry, there never would have been any problems!" the slate-haired boy retorted, before stopping outside the bathroom. "I'm waiting out here," he said bluntly as he leaned back against the wall. Sighing, he looked at Tyson. "We're going to be in trouble when Rei turns into a chibi. I know nothing about kids, and you obviously aren't very maternal either."  
  
"Good, because everything in these bags are presents for you," Rei said as he reached in and pulled out the bag of diapers. "But before you put on any clothes, you need a diaper, but! Check these out," he said as he opened the bag then pulled one of the diapers out and showed it to Max, so he could see the lil green frogs hopping on the front of it. "They didn't have any turtles, so I thought you'd like the frog ones."  
  
Tyson slumped against the wall next to Kai and nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Maybe if we're lucky Max knows a thing or two about kids, or Rei could teach him so he knows... or, if we're really lucky, Rei is so mommy-like, that he can take care of himself and save us the trouble."  
  
Kai smirked. "That -would- be nice! Save us the headache. When your turn comes around," he added with a short laugh," I'm locking you in a closet till you're normal again... or at least as normal as you ever are. What's taking them so long?"  
  
Max squealed and reached for the diaper. "Froggies! I can hop like a froggie!" he said with a grin, before demonstrating his hopping skills. "I can be a bunny too! And a lion!" Squirming excitedly in front of Rei, Max went into a million indistinguishable animal impressions he was extremely proud of. He rarely had much of an audience as a child, so having the older blader's undivided attention was making him ecstatic, and he wanted to show his Mommy -everything- he could do good, before Rei got bored like his real mother always did.   
  
"Gee thanks Kai. I'll remember to do the same thing for you too," Tyson replied as he gazed at the closed door and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you should go in and check."  
  
Rei smiled and praised Max for each one of his impressions as he went about getting the diaper onto him. It was hard with his constant squirming, but Rei managed and got his dark purple sweatpants and the turtle shirt from earlier on too. "Guess what, Max. I bet you'll be able to be a really good bunny when you wear this," Rei said as he held up a baby blue one piecer with bunny ears on it. When he had saw it, he knew that he had to buy it because it seemed to fit Max's personality perfectly. "Do you like it?"  
  
Max's eyes widened before he shrieked and glomped onto Rei, hugging his neck tightly. "A bunny suit! Bunny!!" The small blonde hopped up and down in Rei's lap without releasing his hold on the blader. "I be bunny, you be mommy bunny, and plushie bunny be MY baby bunny!" he babbled, grinning sweetly. He was too happy to stand still, so he jumped and danced in Rei's lap until his tiny foot caught under Rei's leg and he fell over in a fit of giggles in the older boy's lap, eyes lost behind a curtain of messy blonde hair.  
  
Rei couldn't help but grin, happy to see Max so happy over the bunny coat. Being happy suited the blonde, and Rei didn't like to see him as upset as he had been before. When Max fell, Rei brushed his bangs back then helped him back up and into the suit. Once Max was in, he did the zipper up then slipped the hood over his head. "There you go, now you're a bunny," Rei said as he got back to his feet and gathered the bags up. "We should get going now. You stick close, ok?"  
  
"Ok!" Max replied cheerfully, before reaching up to feel his own large fuzzy ears and giggling. "No one will know it's me!" he said, bouncing beside Rei, just as Kai stepped through the door. Seeing the Chinese blader, the bluenette froze, the flushed. "Uhh... I was just checking on you... two...." he lost track of his train of thought as he looked down at the tiny chibi in his bunny suit. Not even Kai could fight back a smile as little Max looked up at him, cuddling his stuffed bunny to his chest, and beamed. "I'm a bunny, Kai!"  
  
Since it was only Rei and the baby in the room, the oldest boy loosened up a bit and gave the Chinese boy a playful wink before looking around the room. "I thought Max was in here with you Rei? Where is he? Did you loose him again? All I see is a little rabbit.." His game was cut short when the 'rabbit' suddenly threw himself against Kai's legs, hugging them tightly. "It's me! Maxie!!! I'm only pretending!"  
  
"Are you sure?" Kai asked, pretending as well. "You don't look like Max....."  
  
Rei smiled at Kai, not caring that he came in since it was Tyson that he was still mad at. He thought it was sweet of Kai to play along with Max, since Kai just wasn't the type to do so. That showed some real heart on Kai's part, and Rei really admired that.   
  
"Let's keep him anyway. He's too cute to let go," Rei said, smiling down at the bunny then back at Kai. "And he's really sweet too."  
  
Kai nodded, relieved that Rei didn't seem to be mad at him. Even though he had originally only played with Max to appease the older blader caring for him, when he looked down at the blonde clinging to his knees, he just didn't have the heart to kick him off. Leaning over, he ruffled Max's hair where it stuck out of the hood, then scooped him up. "Good plan. We're sure to win with a blading bunny on our team! I mean," he continued, as he opened the bathroom door and stepped into the hall, "we've done pretty good so far with a trained monkey," he said, looking straight at Tyson and laughing.   
  
Tyson stared blankly at Kai, not sure at all what he was talking about, and what was this about a monkey? He frowned and tipped his head to the side, before Rei came out and shoved half the bags into his arms to help carry. The chinese blader didn't say anything, just walked by him and followed Kai and Max to the front entrance of the mall so they could head back to where they were staying.  
  
~~~~~  
  
To Be Continued... 


End file.
